A.N. - I wrote this one after a long double shift at work.

Bake Until Brittle

Cookie cutters slice
through sticky dough -
sharp edges carve
out patterns in the goo.

An arm broken here,
a leg snapped there -
gingerbread men
yet to rise in full.

Set inside the oven
harden under pressure
cracking like so
many others before.

Pried off the sheet
hot and tempting
newly-created treats
dangerous in their allure.

Burns to the tongue
as heads are bitten off
relish the sweetness
of silencing the smiles.